Car park development on cards for district

SEVERAL district council owned car parks across the Epping Forest district could be developed in a series of schemes which would ensure better use of the land, with schemes providing parking as well as homes or shops.

Various car parks are being earmarked for an initial phase of development, which would be the result of a tender process with developers.

The council's aim is to increase the amount of housing or shop premises in towns, while at the same time ensuring that sufficient car parking continues to be provided.

Schemes could see the retail shops and homes built over existing car parks. The first four car parks to be investigated, should the council cabinet give the scheme an initial go-ahead, are Burton Road and Church Hill, Loughton, Bakers Lane, Epping, and Cornmill in Waltham Abbey.

A report to the cabinet will seek a decision, in principle, for council officers to investigate partnerships with developers to target car park land to provide homes and retail outlets while retaining parking.

Housing portfolio holder Michael Heavens said: "The problem is to find any kind of sites for building in the district that doesn't take up Green Belt land. It's maximising the use of the land rather than having it just sitting there for cars to be sat on. A car park alone) is really as wasteful way of using the land."

Council leader John Knapman said: "We will effectively go out to tender to ask developers what they can offer.

"It will be a combination of ideas and designs. Each site will be taken on its merits.

"We're having to come up with new ideas because of the acute land shortage and this council owns very few land plots on which it can provide affordable' housing. We're at a very early stage but it's something that could be very fruitful."